From Death to Life Issue 40

8/9/2019 From Death to Life Issue 40

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Bible Teaching Life Death Resurrection Eternal Destinies

Issue 40From Death To LifeDec 2008


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Contents

From Death To LifeThis quarterly newsletter is produced, printed and

published by Resurrection Publishing, PO Box202 -162 , Southgate, Takanini

224 6, New Zealand.Subscriptions may be sent to the

above address in the amount of NZ$15 for four issues or themagazine may be accessed freevia the internet atwww.afterlife.co.nz.

To join the Association see p. 28or print out & send in the mem-bership form from our website.

Conditional Immortality Association Issue 40

From Deat h To Lif e

Editorial p. 4David Burge.Tw isted Scripture p. 5David Burge.Conditional Imm ortality in the 19th Century(Part 3) p. 6

Armand Newrick Resurrection Revealed (Part 8) p. 11 Beryl Ching

Adven t Expectations p. 15David BurgeFrom In the interim" p. 18Cornelius Plantinga Jr.The Big Picture (Part 2) p. 19Immanuel Koks


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Jesus taught his followers to "turnthe other cheek" (Mat. 5:39). Un-fortunately his earthly church hasbeen anything but good represen-tatives of his teaching!One Sunday, early in November a

brawl erupted between Armenianand Christian Orthodox monks in

the Church of the Holy Sepulcher -the traditional site of Je-sus' crucifixion, burialand resurrection. Thebrawl began during aprocession of Armenianclergymen commemo-rating the 4th-century

discovery of what is be-lieved to be the cross onwhich Jesus was cruci-fied. The Greek Ortho-dox objected to themarch going aheadwithout one of their monks beingpresent. They felt the processionwould subvert their claim to theEdicule - the ancient structure builton what is believed to be the tombof Jesus. The Armenians tried tomarch. The Greek Orthodox monksblocked their way. A brawl ensued. Apparently, such events are by no

means uncommon. Six Christian"denominations" or sects sharecontrol of this ancient church.

They frequently hurl abuse at oneanother and engage in punch-ups tothe extent that the Israeli police areforced to intervene.What could be more ironic than

Christians beating each other up onthe alleged burial site of Jesus - andso close to Christmas when we cele-brate the birth of Jesus, the Prince

of Peace, who came to bring peaceon earth to all those on whom Gods

favour rests" (Luke 2:14).Things like this remind me that thepurpose of this Association is to in-form not to divide, to generate lightnot heat. It certainly is not to en-gage in the literary equivalent of apunch up. It is to proclaim thateternal life is found only in Christ amessage fit for every season not

just Christmas.David Burge.

Editorial

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Issue 40 Page 5

Many say the first mention of hellfire in the Bible is inDeuteronomy 32:22. The KJV renders the verse: For a fire

is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowesthell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, andset on fire the foundations of the mountains. Hell hereis sheol. That the KJV speaks of fire burning to "the low-est sheol leads some to assume that Sheol (the Old Tes-tament realm of the dead) is divided into "compartments".The upper cavern is the realm of the blessed dead wheresuch worthies as Jacobexpected to go atdeath (Gen. 37:35).The lower cavern isthe realm where thewicked undergo fiery

torment. This picture isfurther supported bythe notion that Jesusspoke of the realm of the dead as dividedinto two parts, one aplace of fiery torment,when he spoke of theRich Man and Lazarus(Luke 16:19-31).

The Rich Man andLazarus (Luke 16:19-31).37) has been discussed at lengthin the pages of this magazine over the years (See our

website afterlife.co.nz). The Deuteronomy passage needsto be commented on.

(Cont on page 10)


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of thestrength of his fathersfeelings to-ward condi-tional im-mortality

back in Lon-don.

In Feb.23rd. 1887Parker wroteto Spurgeonasking for apublic con-ference tobe calledbetweenministers of all denomi-nations inLondon on

the sug-gested dateof Oct. 25th1887 for thecause of unity. Its in-teresting to note thatthis proposed datelanded three days be-fore Spurgeon actuallychose to formally with-

draw from the Baptistunion on the basis of a

downgrade of Chris-tian truth!

Spurgeon was claimingthat many ministers in


This is part 3 of an address given by

Armand Newrick at Conference 2008. The first 2 parts are found in Issues 38 & 39. The Downgrade

ControversyThe desire of JosephParker for unity is re-flected in a number of very interesting pub-lished letters of corre-spondence between

himself and Spurgeonin 1887. Spurgeon wasbecoming progres-sively averse towardsthose who taught theannihilation of thewicked, or anythingwhich didnt sit wellwith his Calvinist tradi-tion. The fact thatSpurgeons son, Tho-mas, removed GeorgeBrown from the Bap-tist union of New Zea-land, on the basis of Browns adherence toConditional immortal-ity, is some indication

Co nd i t i o nal Immo r t al i t y i n t h e 19t hCent u r y (Par t THREE)

Mint Lane Chapel, pastorate of

Rev. George Brow n, birth place of the conditional immortality

organization .


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the Baptist Union weregiving themselves to aliberal slide away fromthe authority of the Bi-ble, and Spurgeonclaimed he had thenames of the individu-als to prove it!

Amongst themany concerns

being addressedin the downgrade con-troversy, wasthe doctrine of hell. Spurgeon atone pointclaimed some-

thing to the ef-fect of; none of the smallchurches in Lon-don believe inthe conscioustorment of thewicked anymore.

Parker andSpurgeon

CorrespondParker wrote toSpurgeon calling formature cooperation.

Spurgeons written re-sponse was somewhat evasive, calling

Issue 40 Page 7

Parkers conduct puz-zling, for to Spurgeonthere were no groundsfor cooperation as longas Parker taught theannihilation of thewicked. Spurgeonwrote; I think we

should each go our ownway in brotherly friend-liness. Five days latterParker replied, If thereis a problem betweenus lets talk about it.Spurgeon replied,

There is no personalproblem between us todiscuss; you ask me to

cooperate in regards tothe old evangelicalfaith, I do not see myway to do this. Thesematters are not privatebut public matters.Then Spurgeon askedfor no further corre-

spondence fromParker! However,

Parker did keepcorrespondenceup. He pleadedwith Spurgeon tonot be so narrowminded askingSpurgeon to,

widen the circle of

which he has madehimself the centreand to broaden hisreading (I suspectof arguments suchas those support-ing conditional im-

mortality).

The End of an EraSpurgeon only livedanother five years af-ter withdrawing fromthe Baptist Union lateOctober 1887, the fol-lowing January the Un-ion publicly censuredSpurgeon by the man-

Joseph Parker


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tribute to Spurgeon inthe London Times.

Parker creditedSpurgeon with a uniqueand invisible position inChristian England.Spurgeon, whom many

held great disregard forin his lifetime, was sud-denly a hero of Englishevangelicalism in hisdeath!

Parker survivedSpurgeon by anotherten years and his obitu-ary in 1902 claimedParker as the most spo-

ken of divine in all of England at that time.

ConcludingThoughts

There is in this reviewof conditional immor-

tality in the nine-teenth century,three noted re-sponses madeby conditional-ists to resis-tance.1. Withdraw al

The Milleriteswithdrew fromthe main streamto form new de-nominations.Were they rightto do so? In do-ing so were theymore successful

in promoting theirviews?

I dont know if theywere right to withdrawor not because it is notpossible to stand intheir shoes to feel thenature of the resis-

tance against them. If they had remained inthe mainstream per-


ner of his protest.Spurgeon was known

for his blunt forthright-ness which someclaimed bordered onirreverence and se-cured for Spurgeon agreat manyopponentsthroughouthis lifetime.Spurgeonsuffered fromdepression,gout, and aliver conditionwhich all con-

tributed tohis stressduring the

downgradecontroversy.Spurgeon hadsaid that thiscontroversy surround-

ing the downgrade of evangelical Christianitywas killing him.Spurgeon died in 1892in France aged only57.

Despite Spurgeons re-sistance to Parkerscall for unity Parkerstill paid a generous

C. H. Spurgeon


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haps they may havecaused a more serious

rupture from within.2. Stay P ut

Joseph Parker wouldnot join the Condi-tional immortality or-ganization because itwas viewed as

provocative anddivisive. DidParkers re-sponse promoteconditional im-mortality?

I suppose thatif Parker gavehis name to theorganization of conditionaliststhe doctrinewould havegained ground.

Although peace and

unity are the mark of being a disciple of Christ I believe thatcorrection of error forthe sake of truth canbe promoted alongside unity.

However, I cannotstand in Parkers shoesto know what it may

Issue 40 Page 9

have meant to supportthe conditional immor-

tality organization of that time. Perhaps aparallel might be madeto John Stotts soften-ing of his stand forconditional immortalityfor fear of dividing

evangelicals in recenttimes.3. Form an I nterde-nominationalOrganization

Many conditionalists,

including Rev. GeorgeBrown, formed a cen-tral interdenomina-

tional organization. Didsuch a response pro-

mote conditional im-mortality?

I believe such a re-sponse did maintainthe voice of conditionalimmortality and pro-

vide support for

those holding theview.

So WhichResponse is the

Right One?This coming Sep-

tember marks 130

years since the firstconditional immor-tality organizationwas formed in Eng-land in 1878, and Iask this question;why do we support

this work? For me per-sonally, I am not solelymotivated by a desireto defend the truth, al-though that is of primeimportance. I couldbelieve something tobe true and not wantto bother anyoneabout it because itdoesnt really affect

The Millers


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This fire, if context is

any guide, is not a lit-eral fire at all. It is asymbol of Gods wrath.It is certainly not a firethat tortures so-calledimmortal souls afterdeath. It is a fire thatwas yet to devour theearth and set on firethe very foundation of the earthly mountains.

The phrase "lowestsheol" is (as the NIV

has it) better trans-lated sheol below, incontrast to, not sheolabove, but the

heavens above. Thisfigure of speech, usedof the mysteries of God(Job. 11:7-9), is usedhere to describe howfar reaching is the di-vine anger probablypoured out on Israelduring the Babylonian

captivity.

David Burge


them. However, inthis case, the truthdoes have a bearingon the destiny of hu-manity through theirresponse to Gods of-fer of eternal life inhis Son. What moti-vates me is both myexperienced concern

that the traditionalnotion of hell hasturned many of myfriends away, andequally that it is notwhat the Bibleteaches!For God is not want-ing any to perish butfor all to come to re-pentance and livethrough faith in hisSon, Jesus Christ. No-tions of hell that de-mand the immortali-

zation of those in itstorments are a shock-ing distortion of Gods

justice and demandongoing review bythose who hold pre-cious their tradition,and so the work goes

on! Armand Newrick

THE AUTHOR

Armand is a m emberof Manukau CentralBaptist church and a

recent graduate fromCarey Baptist Collegew ith a degree in ap-plied theology. He hashad a keen interest intheology since histeenage conversion(See Issue 30) andcame to the condition-alist position abouteight years into hisw alk w ith the Lord. Heis married to Suzanneand they have tw ochildren, Daniel andEmma.

(Cont from page 5)


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Issue 40 Page 11

thermore, there will bethose who rise again,perhaps of the samepersons after the effu-

sion of the spirit atPentecost... 56 The Lord Jesus Christ

Himself speaks often

of resurrection, affirm-ing also that thosewho studied the OldTestament should haveseen that it was taughtin those Scriptures.

A clear teaching of theLord is found in John5:25, when He de-clares that a time iscoming when the

dead shall hear thevoice of the Son of God: and they thathear shall live. Somedo argue that thewords, and now is indicate that He isspeaking of thosespiritually dead whoreceive eternal lifewhen they hear andrespond to His voice.However that may be,in verses 28,29 it iscertain that He isspeaking of the com-ing resurrection, be-cause He speaks of

those who are in the

graves. He says they shall hear His voice, And come forth; theythat have done good,unto the resurrectionof life; and they thathave done evil, untothe resurrection of damnation. Matthew 24 is a dis-course on the signs of

Our resurrection hopeis confirmed in theNew Testament.

RESURRECTIONIN THE GOSPELS

(PAR T 1)General

ResurrectionNot long after thebirth of Jesus, Hewas taken to thetemple, whereSimeon prophesiedabout Him (Luke2:34). He uses theterm rising again(anastasis, whichcan also mean resur-

rection) of many in Is-rael. However, the fullexpression is fall andrising again, so Mat-thew Henry, taking itto mean the moral fall,writes of those whoare referred to, that

they are those... whowill be prejudiced andenraged against him,and offended. 55 Fur-


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lowed Him. In His re-ply in Mark 10:30 (andMatthew 19:29) theLord says that theywould receive onehundred-fold for eve-rything they had givenup, in this life - and inthe world to come,eternal life. This im-

plies resurrection. 57

If there was no resur-rection they could notlook forward to theworld to come! In Mark 12:18-23 (Cp.Matt. 22:23-33) theSadducees, who didnot believe in the res-urrection (Mark 12:18;Luke.20:27), thoughtthey had an unan-swerable riddle whenthey brought an ab-surd story to Jesus of seven brothers who,one after the other (inobedience to Leviticallaw, Deut. 25:5,6),married the samewoman, without anyof them having chil-dren. In the resur-

rection therefore,when they shall rise,whose wife shall shebe of them? (Mark

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12:23). They thoughtthat through this storyand question theywere ridiculing thewhole idea of the res-urrection. Christs replypointed them back tothe burning bush of Exodus chapter 3.Exodus is a part of the

Pentateuch, on which

the Sadducees particu-larly based their be-liefs. The Lord toldthem that they hadmade a great mistakein asking this question,because there is nomarriage in heaven,but when the dead

arise, they shall be likethe angels.(Incidentally, Christwas also pointing out

another wrong teach-ing of the Sadduceesin this remark, be-cause they did not be-lieve in angels, either!)He then went on to re-mind them that theScriptures say thatwhen God spoke toMoses, He said, I am

the God of Abraham,and the God of Isaac,and the God of Jacob.He affirmed that Godis not the God of thedead, but the God of the living. The ques-tion is about the resur-rection, but most peo-ple seize on this sayingto prove that these pa-triarchs are alreadywith Him in heaven.If that is what Christwas saying, then itdoes not do anythingtoward proving theresurrection. In fact, itcould prove that theresurrection is not nec-essary! So we have toremember that inprophecy God often

speaks in the present,though events are stillfuture, because Heknows the future, and


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about whether or notthere will be a resur-rection. Jesus takes itfor granted as a fact,as something which isgoing to happen.The Lord gives a directprophecy and promiseof resurrection in John5:21, saying that As

the Father raiseth upthe dead, and quick-eneth them: even sothe Son quickenethwhom he will. In Matt. 16:18 Jesussays that the gates of hell (Hades) will not

prevail again thechurch. David Burgepoints out because Ha-des refers to death,this means that Hadescannot prevail againstthe church, becausedeath cannot hold thechurch; resurrectionwill overcome it! 58

Footnotes55. Matthew Henry.56. The J. F. B. BibleCommentary.57. G.E.Ladd. Bible

Characters and Doc-trines. Scripture Un-ion. Vol. 16, Study 79.

58. From Death to Life.Issue 24, p.2. P.O.Box202162, Takanini 2246,

Auckland, New Zealand.The Auth or

Beryl Joy Ching, spentover 40 years on the mis-sion field in India. Re-turning to New Zealandto retire, Beryl was for

a long time secretary of this Association. RESUR-RECTION AS REVEALEDIN THE OLD TESTAMENT

AND CONFIRMED IN THENEW TESTAMENT is thefull title of her Thesispresented to the Facultyof the Freelandia Insti-tute Biblical TheologicalCollege in partial fulfil-ment of the requirementsfor the Degree Master of Biblical Studies.


what He has promised isso sure that He canspeak of it in the pre-sent tense. (Cp. Romans8:28, where

glorified (past tense) isused although it is stillto take place in the fu-ture, because it is partof the eternal plan of God, and therefore ab-solutely certain.) In Luke20:37, recording thesame incident, it is putvery plainly - Now thatthe dead are raised,even Moses showed atthe bush, when he

called the Lord, the Godof Abraham, and theGod of Isaac, and theGod of Jacob. By usingthese titles of God,Moses was not provingthey are now alive, butproving that they will be

resurrected! So says theLord Jesus.In Luke 14:14 Jesus in-structs those who givedinners to call peoplewho cannot afford togive them a dinner in re-turn, for then thoushalt be recompensed atthe resurrection of the

just. No argument here


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The earliest Christiansheld what scholarscall, apocalyptic ex-pectations. That is,they believed with all

their heartthat Jesuswas comingback literally,personally,visibly, defi-nitely unex-pectedly (asfar as theworld wasconcerned)and proba-bly soon.They be-lieved that

his comingagain wouldusher in agolden ageof prosperityknown asthe Kingdom of God.They believed that evil

would be defeated,and that the Saintswould be vindicated.They believed that the

Issue 40 Page 15

saints of all ageswould rise to life andreign with Jesus for atleast 1000 years.There was a sense of

urgency among thosefirst generation Chris-

tians. Persecuted byJews and Romansalike, they looked toJesus to come back

and save them.Since the first advent(or coming) of ourSaviour, over two thou-

sand Christmass have come andgone. As the years,then the decadesand now the cen-turies have passed,is it possible tohold on to that

sense of expecta-tion even urgencythat characterisedthe early church?Is it possible to livein expectation andat the same timeavoid falling into

the trap that manyin the ThessalonianChurch fell into where we abandonall thought for our

future, doing no work and making no plansfor tomorrow, while weawait the coming of Jesus?In fact, Paul warned

Advent Expectat ionsBy David Burge


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well-known evangelistsin modern history. Hesaid, I have felt likeworking three times ashard as ever since Icame to understandthat my Lord is coming

again. I look upon theworld as a wreckedvessel. God has givenme a lifeboat and saidto me, Moody, save allyou can. 1

Many in the world lack

a sense of direction andpurpose in life. Moodytestifies to the fact thatthe believer who is

looking for Jesus tocome again lives in thesure and certainknowledge that what-ever he or she does (ordoes not do) for God inthis life will have eter-

nal consequences.The believer thushas something to

live for.Something To

Live To John wrote in hisFirst Epistle, Andnow, dear children,continue in him, so

that when he ap-pears we may beconfident and un-ashamed beforehim at His com-ing (1Jn 2:28)John is saying that

to avoid beingashamed when Jesuscomes, we need to becontinuing in Jesusnow. He says, Dearfriends, now we arechildren of God, andwhat we will be hasnot yet been madeknown. But we knowthat when he appears,we shall be like him,


the Thessalonians thatthe Lord would notcome until the apos-tasy occurred and the

Man of Lawless is re-vealed (2Thess. 2:1-4). In light of this Paulexhorts the be-lievers to con-tinue working,

saying, Brothersand sisters,never tire of do-ing what is right(2Thess. 3:13).

There are verymany practicalreasons why weshould still belooking for Jesusto come, whilewe still go on do-ing what is right.The believer wholives by the light

of his or her adventexpectations will findthat it has a tremen-dous impact on sev-eral areas of life.

Something ToLive For

Dwight L. Moody,though of limited for-mal education, be-came one of the most

Dw ight L. Moody


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for we shall see him ashe is. Everyone who hasthis hope in him purifieshimself, just as he ispure (1Jn 3:2, 3).

John says that the hopeof Christs comingcauses us to live to the

standard, to purify our-selves as Jesus waspure. Is the lack of pu-rity in the church todaya consequence of thediminishing of the bibli-cal hope of Christ com-

ing again? (as opposedto promotion to glory ,for example).

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Something Forthe Life Beyond

While I applaud theemphasis on applyingthe Bible to everydaylife which is so much apart of contemporary

preaching the goodnews is not SevenSteps to a Better Mar-riage, How to RaiseObedient Children How to Manage YourMoney or any suchthing.It is about Jesus, theMessiah, Gods

anointed King, who, inthe words of WesleysChristmas Hymn, Hark the Herald Angels Sing , was Born thatman no more may die,Born to raise the sonsof earth, Born to give

them second birth. Itsabout how he died ona cross to set us freefrom our slavery to Sa-tan, sin and death.

When Paul first wroteto the Christians at

Thessalonica it was notabout how to get moreout of marriage etc, it


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"John Calvin w rotecomm entaries onevery book of theBible but one. Whenhe got to the last

book of the Bible--the Apocalypse, theBook of Revelation,the book of whoresand dragons andclashing empires-heread it and then put

his pen back in hisdrawer.

But is it better to ig-nore the Lord's re-turn? I s it better tolive with a low ceil-

ing over our lives,and no room therefor the incoming

Lord? We may bethe sort of peopleJesus warnsabout in Luke 21.W atch! says Je-sus. Heads up! Bealert! Pray thatyou w ill have thestrength to stand

before the Son of M an! Jesus says thisto people w ho havegiven up on the sec-ond coming andhave settled into a

ground-level relig-ion. At this lev eltheir hearts get wa-terlogged . Theirhearts get "w eigheddow n," as verse 34says. ... [T]ha t's

how they end uptrapping them-selves." (In the in-terim", CorneliusPlan tinga J r. TheChristian Century.

Chicago: Dec 6,200 0. Vol. 117 , Iss.34; pg. 127 0).


was about their lovedones who had died be-lieving in Jesus. Hewrote to assure themthat when Jesus comestheir loved ones will beresurrected and all of usthen living will be

caught up togetherwith them in the clouds,to meet the Lord in theair: and so we will bewith the Lord forever. He then added,

encourage one anotherwith these words (1Th.4:13-18).

unless Jesus comes first,

every one of us will die(and remain dead). Nowthose who believe eter-nal life is found onlythrough faith in Christand only at his returnwill see why every gen-eration of Christiansmust look to the com-ing of Jesus to find hopeeven in the face of death.

David Burge

Footnotes

1. Looking for Jesus,www.truthhelpers.com/cdmaster/Looking%20for%20Jesus.doc.


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Atonement Every year the nationof Israel would have aday of fasting and sac-

rifice. That day, theDay of Atone-ment, wasthe day thattheir sinscould be cov-ered. Once ayear the highpriest wouldslaughter onegoat andhave anotherled out intothe wilder-ness. He

would takethe blood of the first Goat,into the mostholy part of the Taber-nacle/Temple (a parthe could only enteronce a year, that is on

the Day af Atonement)and would sprinkle theBlood on the Mercy

Issue 40 Page 19

Seat (Lev 16:15-16.)Through this processthe Sins of the peoplecould be covered and

they could continue tolive in the land, in the

shadow of GodsGrace. Because of what happened on thisday, the people despitetheir sins continued tohave life that Godalone could offer. The

other goat also carriedthe sins of the people,but it was led awayinto a deserted part of

the wilderness. Signify-ing the way the sins of the people,were takenaway throughthe Atonementprocess. Leviti-cus 23:29-30

tells us thatanyone whodoes not keepthe Day of

Atonement willbe destroyed,Why? If theychose to stepout of Godsmechanism of grace for them,

they would reap theconsequences of theirsin, death.

Here, in the Day of

Atonement, we see anoutworking of Godsgrace to his people. He

Choose Life (Part 2)By Immanuel Koks


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Jesus Christ We know John 3:16 so

well, For God so lovedthe world that he gavehis only Son, so thateveryone who believesin him may not perishbut may have eternal

life. yet the truth re-mains, if we believe inChrist we will haveeternal life. If we donot, then verses 17 and18 say we are con-demned, not by God,

but by the very factthat we do not believein the Son. Condemnedto what? Perishing.Even in allowing theunbeliever to perish,we see the love of God, for it is better to

die than to live for-ever in a state of

sin.The book of John isdense with the con-nection between Je-sus and Life. A small selection in-cludes: Life was inHim (1:4) ThePharisees searchedthe scriptures forin them was Life. but they refused tocome to Jesus who,could give them Life(6:39-40). Meta-

phorically, he is thebread of Life, andwho ever eats of

him will have eternallife (6:41-58). He willgive eternal life tothose who are his(10:25- 30). He is the

way, the truth and thelife. He told the Sa-maritan woman that he


knew that the peoplewould sin, so made aritual whereby theycould remain in rela-tionship with him. Theritual, however wasnot sufficient. Thewriter of Hebrewspointedly says,

For it is impos-sible for theblood of bullsand goats totake awaysins. (Heb10:4) but inChrist that sinhas been re-

moved. Morethan that,Christ only hadto die, onceand his perfectsacrifice wassufficient tocover all sin,forever. Accord-ing to Hebrewsthe high priestand the goats all fore-shadowed the ultimatereality, Christ. But thewarning remains, if wesin and walk awayfrom Christ, the lifegiver, we will perish(Heb 10:26-31).


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offered living water,and whoever drinksthe water he gave willhave eternal life. (4:7-42)The message is clearthat in choosing Jesuswe have eternal Life,but by not choosingJesus we receive con-

demnation and willperish and die. It isnot my intention, inthis article, to arguewhy I take the words -perish and die - liter-ally. However I find itquite clear that theforce of the biblicalstory up to and includ-ing Jesus is that life isoffered only to thosewho are in relationshipwith God, The ApostlePaul makes it quite

clear, For the wagesof sin is death, but thefree gift of God is eter-nal life in Christ Jesusour Lord. (Rom 6:23)Paul, and the otherNew Testament writ-ers, do not deviate

from the theme, in arelationship with Christthere is eternal Life,

Issue 40 Page 21

outside of that rela-tionship there is not.

The End of Tim e We see in the book of Revelation (20:11-15)a time called the GreatWhite throne Judg-

ment. When the deadrise will be judged. Weare told that somebooks are opened.One of which is thebook of life. We arenot told much aboutthe judgment process

except that those whodo not have theirname written in thebook of life will bethrown into the Lakeof Fire, to die the sec-ond death. Then John

flicks us to anotherscene the New Heav-ens and New Earth. inwhich God wipes tearsfrom peoples eyes,where death, mourn-

ing, crying and painwill be no more (21:4.)We are then told of a


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story painted here, con-sistently points to theirfate as death. They willno longer exist.

-Immanuel Koks

The AuthorImmanuel's parents

immigrated to NewZealand from the Neth-erlands in 1968, sixyears before Immanuelwas born with moder-

ate Cerebral Palsy. Hegrew up in the World-wide Church of Godwhich he left, with hismother and brother atthe end of 1995. Now,after attending theBible College of New

Zealand (BCNZ) Im-manuel considers him-self an "orthodox evan-

gelical" who still be-lieves in ConditionalImmortality. Imman-uel's passion is to com-bine his understanding

of disability and histheology. While manyChristian organizationsare doing good work for people with disabili-ties and those who aresuffering, there is aneed for a strongertheological foundation.Immanuel feels calledto this. To further thisgoal he plans to studyat Regent College inCanada. If you wouldlike to know more

about Immanuel'sdreams and aspirationsvisit his web page atwww.immanuelkoks.com


river of life flowingfrom the throne of God and the Lamb(another title forChrist.) We are told of trees of life, lining theriver (22:1-3) for thehealing of the nations.The picture of theNew Heavens is all en-

veloping, there is noroom for the wicked.They cease to exist inthis picture.The trajectory of scrip-ture we have mappedout shows that those

judged worthy to haveeternal life, are thosewho are in Christ. Thatis those who acceptJesus as their Lord.Those who have notaccepted Jesus asLord and Savior wouldhave already reapedtheir reward, death.Therefore we mustconclude that the pic-ture of the New Heav-ens and New Earth isa very consistent fitwith the biblical narra-

tive. The fate of thewicked is not to live ineternal conscious tor-ment. The biblical


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PO Box 202-162SouthgateTakanini 2246

E-mail:

[email protected]:www afterlife co nz

ConditionalImmortality

Association

Statement of Faith1. We believe in God and His one and only Son,Jesus the Christ. Heb. 11:6; John 14:1; 3:16; 20:31;Mat. 16:16.2. We believe in the Holy Spirit. 2Pet. 1:21; 1Cor.6:19; Jude 20; Eph. 3:5.

3. We believe that Jesus died for us and gavehimself a ransom for all. Rom. 5:8; 1Cor. 15:3; 1Tim.2:6.4. We believe that God raised Jesus from the dead;that by resurrection He became Lord of both thedead and the living, and the first fruits of those whohave fallen asleep; and that whoever believes in Himshall not perish but have eternal life. Rom. 10:9;

14:9; 1Cor. 15:20; John 3:16.5. We believe that baptism is commanded by Christ,was practiced by His Apostles, and is taught in theNew Testament. Mat. 28:18,19; Acts 8:12,38.6. We believe that all Scripture is God-breathed andis useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting andtraining in righteousness, so that the people of Godmay be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2Tim. 3:16,17.7. We believe that human beings are by naturemortal. Gen. 2:7; 3:19; 1Tim. 6:16; 2Tim. 1:10;Rom. 2:6-7.8. We believe that human beings in death areunconscious. Psa. 6:5; 115:17; Ecc. 9:5,10. This islikened to "sleep". Job 14:12; Psa. 13:3; Jer. 51:39;Dan. 12:2; John 11:11-14; 1Cor. 15:51.

9. We believe that immortality is obtained onlythrough faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 1Cor. 15:21-23; 2Tim. 4:7-8; 1John 5:9-12.10. We believe that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked, to be followed bythe Judgment. Acts 24:15; John 5:25,28,29; Rev.20:12,13.11. We believe that evil and evil-doers shall be finallydestroyed. Psa. 145:20; Mat. 10:28 Rom. 6:21; Phil.3:19; Heb. 2:14; 1John 3:8; Rev. 22:3.12. We believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Membership

I agree with theStatement of Faith & amapplying for membershipin the Association:

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From Death to Life Issue 40

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